BASEBALL
Chang Yu could get call-up
Cleveland Indians starting shortstop Francisco Lindor is to be sidelined for the next seven to nine weeks due to a right calf strain, the Major League Baseball club announced on Friday. The setback could set the stage for Taiwan’s 23-year-old Chang Yu to make a jump from Cleveland’s top development club into the major leagues. Lindor suffered the setback while preparing for this month’s start of pre-season training in Orlando, Florida, and was evaluated on Wednesday by doctors in Cleveland, Ohio, before starting his rehabilitation process. The three-time American League All-Star’s projected return timetable could mean he would miss next month’s season opener for the Indians on March 28 at Minnesota. Among the prospects expected to see extra time at shortstop for Cleveland in pre-season games is Chang, who batted .256 with 13 home runs and 62 runs batted in more than 457 times at bat with Cleveland’s top developmental club last year. The Indians have also looked at moving Chang to third baseman given his success and Lindor’s dominance at shortstop. Also in the mix could be Max Moroff, primarily a second baseman who played part-time at shortstop for Pittsburgh who was obtained in a trade in November last year, or 32-year-old infielder Ryan Flaherty, who played for Atlanta last season.
CYCLING
Landis to open hemp cafe
Former professional cyclist Floyd Landis has announced plans to open a bicycle showroom and coffee shop that is to sell hemp products in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. LNP cited Landis as saying on Thursday that he would open Floyd’s of Lancaster Cafe in the spring featuring products from his Colorado-based business that sells cannabis derivatives. The cafe is to serve coffee, food and products made with cannabidiol, the nonpsychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. The bike shop is also to feature electric bikes from Van Dessel, which sponsors Landis’ professional cycling team. Landis said that his company would begin to make “significant purchases” from Pennsylvania hemp farmers. Landis, who is from Farmersville, Pennsylvania, was initially declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France. He later lost the title after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
OLYMPICS
British Basketball gets funds
The British Basketball Federation is to get ￡75,000 (US$97,129) from UK Sport as a second wave of funding to help support preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the British governing body said on Friday. The federation lost out in the initial round of British government funding in December last year, in which 14 Olympic and Paralympic sports shared a ￡3 million investment pot. “I want to express my thanks to UK Sport for their latest show of support,” federation chairman Maurice Watkins said in a statement. “This news is another step forward for basketball, and whilst we were disappointed to miss out during the initial allocation from the Aspiration Fund, we are pleased to have now been awarded additional financial assistance as our teams gear up for an exciting 2019.” Britain, which has never won a medal in Olympic basketball, claimed 67 medals, including 27 golds, at the 2016 Rio Games.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
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